Ski resort driven to meltdown drops snow from helicopters

Mild temperatures in Switzerland have turned the slopes of Gstaad grassy during its high season

THE Swiss ski resort of Gstaad has admitted being “ecologically insensitive” after flying snow to the slopes via helicopter in a failed attempt to keep them open during the mild weather.

The resort, which prides itself on sustainability, is one of many that have struggled to keep pistes open, with temperatures in Switzerland hovering around the 20C (68F) mark.

Given the situation during the festive high season, Gstaad decided to take emergency action just before Christmas by using a helicopter to conduct nine “snow lifts” to runs connecting the Zweisimmen and Saanenmöser resorts, according to local reports.

Matthias In-albon, director of Bergbahnen Gstaad, told Hauptstadt TV: “It was not possible to solve the problem with snow cannons because the temperatures were too high and the snow cover was too thin.” Snow groomers also proved useless.

“In an emergency, you have to try things out,” he added.

Commentators online were quick to point out the hypocrisy of the move given Gstaad’s claims of respecting “sustainability on the slopes” and “decreasing the difficult-to-avoid emissions resulting from skiing activities”.

“What’s the CO2 footprint of snow transported by helicopter?” asked one.

Another said that Switzerland could now compete with air-conditioned stadiums in Qatar or the organisation of winter competitions in Saudi Arabia.

Destination Gstaat, the valley’s tourist office, said: “This emergency measure was ecologically insensitive. It also proved to be unsuitable from a technical point of view. The transports by helicopter were therefore immediately stopped. No further flights are planned.”

At any rate, the helicopter tactic “did not work”, the Mr In-albon said, because “loading and unloading the snow was too complicated and the amount of snow per flight too small”.

Staff resorted to another tactic. “Our innovative employees welded an adapter to attach a tractor’s front tipping shovel to a snow groomer,” said Mr In-albon.

“Snow can now be transported from the depots to the slopes.”

However, the connecting route remains closed as the shovels could not reach the spot, he said. It is not the first time helicopters have been used to bring snow to slopes in Europe.

In 2020, about 100 helicopter snow lifts were conducted to ensure that Lauberhorn in Wengen could take place during the Youth Olympic Games, in Lausanne. Each flight carried just two cubic metres of snow.

“Of course it sounds incredibly stupid to transport snow with a helicopter. But that was the only way we could save the slalom and combined races. The effort was absolutely justified,” said Urs Näpflin of the FIS Alpine World Cup organising committee at the time.

In France that year, the Luchonsuperbagnères resort in the Pyrenees arranged for about 50 tons of snow to be dropped on its slopes.